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Analog Film Design
This page on the wikia contains a brief overview of the history of the analog film format (16mm and Super-8mm), how the the medium has since been repurposed from primarily commercial/home use into an artistic practice (the experimental or avant-garde), and the potential for exploration into it's use for Searching for Sebald. Brief History of Film! Simply put, motion pictures are created by a series of consecutive still frames presented linearly in rapid succession. Each frame is given a specific duration of "screen-time", meaning it's frozen in front of us (the viewer) for a fraction of a second (usually 1/48th of a second!). The next frame is shown, and so on. Our brain interprets the swift-moving static frames to appear as motion because the speed at which we see the images is too fast to catch (in some cases! more on projection speed in the following sections!). So, that being said, there is certainly something different about watching an analog film projection compared to television, web videos, or digital projection when it comes to how our brains interpret it. Analog film is essentially made of 2 parts: an acetate base and a light sensitive emulsion (this is called the silver-gelatin process whereas light falling upon the photon-sensitive emulsion containing silver halide crystals is recorded as a latent image. That latent image is subjected to chemical processing which makes it visible.) Black and white film is really just a bunch of silver stuck to plastic! 16mm is a medium gauge format (compared to the commercially used 35mm) and was invented in 1923. It's primary use historically was news-gathering for television, industrial, and scientific filmmaking. Super-8mm was released in 1965 as a quick, easy, and fun "home movie" format. Quickly, the formats were utilized by artists to do what they do best - make art! Analog Film Projection as Performance The projection of analog film and the machines involved with it have been utilized in performance since art-makers started tinkering with 16mm and Super-8mm. The tacticle nature of projection (loading, unloading, focusing, framing) makes it a performance itself. There's definitely an inherent connection between the "live film" of The Orpheus Variations and ''Searching for Sebald ''with "expanded cinema" because in both types of performances, the performers themselves are manipulating the image-making technology (i.e. holding the video cameras, holding the lights, etc). Techniques of Projector Performance: *Multi-projection Layering - while using two or more projectors, the images can be overlayed to create dramatic superimpositions (the effect depends on what two images are layered of course) *Bi-Packing - a similar effect can be made by running two film strips sandwhiched together through the projector *Looping - shots can be repeated endlessly by simply splicing the end of the film strip back to it's beginning. *Projecting through multiple projectors - a strip of film can be strung around the room and different parts of the same scene can be played back through different projectors at different times. *Variable Speed Projection - certain projectors have the ability to run slower than the standard 24fps, meaning a performer can manipulate the duration of a sequence live and in the moment. *Hand-holding Projectors - smaller projectors can be handheld and moved around the space - taking the image off the traditional screen space and bringing it out into the audience, the ceiling, etc. Examples of Expanded Cinema Multi-disciplinary arts collective THE ARCANE PROJECT performs at MONO NO AWARE V Use of layering, mixing 16mm and Super-8mm. Performances starts at 2:45, skip to that! A totally AWESOME performance by Kristin Reeves. 9-projectors running simultaneously, running loops that she changes all the time. Her movement is part of her performance. Category:Technology